Asian Terminals eyes Bacolod, Mindanao

Port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) is exploring investment opportunities in Mindanao and Bacolod to further boost its profitability and ensure its continued growth.

ATI chairman and president Richard Barclay told reporters after the firm’s stockholders meeting yesterday that the company has submitted a proposal to re-develop and operate a government-owned port terminal in Mindanao and a private port in Bacolod.

Barclay said the Mindanao port, which is being privatized by the Phividec Industrial Authority (PIA), has a capacity of 270,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year and has a back-up area for state-of-the-art container yard, warehouse and storage facilities. It is seen to address the traffic congestion of the existing Cagayan de Oro Port and the medium-term need of the Phividec Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental.

Using international competitive bidding procedures, the winning operator will be given full autonomy to manage and operate the port for a period of 20 to 25 years. Such lease period may be extended subject to mutual agreement with PIA.

"We will continue to build on our fundamental strengths in service excellence, seize opportunities for growth and maximum returns and most importantly, ensure that our financial condition is fundamentally sound," Barclay said.

Barclay said the company has earmarked P300 million for its capital expenditures this year to improve its domestic and international terminal operations in order to meet the increasing market requirement for quality service. The programmed capital budget however, is significantly lower than the P1.5 billion allotted last year.

ATI reported a first quarter net income of P104 million this year, a slight improvement from the previous year’s P103 million. Consolidated revenues grew 18 percent to P899 million on back of higher cargo volumes.

Manila’s South Harbor continued to benefit from ATI’s program to modernize the port’s facilities, equipment and procedures as it registered a 13 percent increase in container volume to 153,541 TEUs during the period from 135,506 TEUs in January to March last year.

The South Harbor General Stevedoring Terminal, on the other hand, took advantage of the growth in non-containerized imports for bagged cargoes, chemicals, and steel to handle an aggregate growth of 12 percent in first quarter tonnage from 820,462 metric tons last year to 1,069,579 MT this year. Of this volume, 23 percent were handled on the dockside and 77 percent at the anchorage.

During the year, ATI forged new joint ventures with Wan Hai and Uniglory, CT Navigation with agents Goldlink, Yang Ming and Uniglory and Yang Ming’s new Taiwan Manila Express service.

With new contracts and improved efficiencies, the company expects to sustain its growth for the rest of the year.

ATI has benefited from its commercial logistics business, which is expected to grow steadily.